Recharge Your Workout With Interval Training

Let’s face it, if we could all take a magic pill that would not only make those excess pounds disappear but give us a lean and toned look, we’d all take it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, we haven’t developed one of those pills yet so we still have to lose weight and get healthy the old-fashioned way – diet and exercise.

They say 90% of success is showing up. that certainly applies to exercise. While a healthy diet program can get you 80% of the way to your ideal body goals, exercise can get you there faster.

Sure, exercising can be fatiguing and inconvenient, especially when we’re working 12 hours a day, taking the kids to their after school activities, preparing food for a family, running errands, helping with homework and trying to squeeze in some sleep.

What If You Could Get Your Cardio Workout in Only 20 Minutes a Day?

You can with interval training. Recent studies have shown that training at higher intensities for only minutes per week can produce the same results as training more slowly for 2-3 hours per week. And a small British study found that people enjoyed the shorter, more intense workout more than prolonged exercise bouts and were more likely to do them regularly.

Give interval training a try.

Try 6 bouts of 30-second exercises at 100% of maximum intensity on the elliptical trainer, stationary bike or treadmill with 2-4 minutes between the 30-second “sprints.”

Interval training may be difficult but it’s short and extremely effective. Give it a try and let us know your thoughts.

For more information on interval training check out the August 2011 article about interval training in Fitness RX magazine.

Partial content from Fitness Rx magazine August 2011. Research from Journal of Sports Science, published February 14, 2011.